On the big screen, Terry and Carter were having an intense argument, almost coming to blows.
The atmosphere in the screening room was stifling. Eddie gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, subconsciously trying to guess how the Grim Reaper would claim the next life.
Terry, furious, stormed off, walking onto the road from in front of a parked bus. Just as she stepped out from the front of the bus, another speeding bus hit her, sending blood and flesh flying.
"Aaah!"
A girl's scream suddenly pierced the air, sounding genuinely terrified.
Eddie clutched the armrest with one hand and his chest with the other, his heart pounding rapidly as if it might leap out of his throat.
"I was scared to death! Scared to death…" The bespectacled black guy next to him seemed to be rattled by the movie. "Scared me to death!"
Eddie took several deep breaths. This director was incredibly good at scaring people; the Grim Reaper hadn't even shown his face, yet everyone was nearly scared to death.
But amidst the fright, Eddie also felt a thrill. Isn't this the kind of feeling you want when watching a horror movie?
Indeed, the most terrifying thing is the unpredictability of death.
In Brooklyn, New York, Tom left the theater after watching the movie and stood at the cinema's entrance, looking up at the streetlights and signs above. An unbidden thought crossed his mind: What if a sign falls down?
"Hurry up," someone called to their companion. "We'll miss the bus."
The companion's legs seemed shaky as she replied loudly, "Don't talk to me about buses. God, I don't want to look at any signs. Those things are too scary!"
A car sped by, and Tom instinctively covered his neck, thinking of poor Billy, whose head was sliced off by a piece of metal kicked up by a train.
Then there was Ms. Lewton and Todd, who died in the bathroom...
It was like an encyclopedia of deadly accidents!
This movie is not for paranoid people. Watching it would only make their condition worse.
For the average person, though, it's beneficial. At the very least, it makes you pay attention to safety details in everyday life. Accidents often start with small details, like slipping in the bathroom, placing knives in the wrong spots, electrical malfunctions, gas leaks, car accidents, and so on.
Tom muttered, "People like me who mess around with electricity are also in danger."
Looking up at the sky, he headed toward the parking lot. "The Grim Reaper should have nothing to do with me."
In Los Angeles, at the Santa Monica Plaza AMC Theater, Katherine Heigl crossed her arms, feeling a chill run through her entire body. She was covered in goosebumps.
This was Katherine Heigl's first time seeing the finished film, and she hadn't expected it to be this scary.
Compared to Final Destination, Scream was not scary at all.
Using simple everyday details to design various ingenious killing methods, director James Wong was indeed twisted.
Reflecting on the death scenes in the movie, Katherine Heigl thought about her own life and suddenly felt like a little princess courting disaster.
Michael watched the scenes on the screen with great interest. A while ago, James Wong had made some adjustments to the film's soundtrack, and Michael hadn't seen the results until now, which gave him a pleasant surprise.
James Wong had added a song during the re-dubbing process.
Though Michael had no particular expertise in music, the younger Michael had heard many songs. When he heard this one, he recognized it and remembered its backstory.
The song, "Rocky Mountain High," played throughout the film. Despite its cheerful, upbeat rhythm, commonly used as travel music, many people overlooked that its writer, John Denver, died in a plane crash.
This oddly fit the film's initial airplane disaster prediction and appeared before each character's death.
In a way, it created a contrasting beauty by pairing joyous music with somber scenes.
Despite retaining elements of American horror films, Final Destination broke through the typical methods and styles of all previous horror films. There were no monsters, no murderous killers, no ghosts—everything was unknown. It perfectly reflected James Wong's philosophy that the unknown is the scariest.
Beside Michael, Robert suddenly whispered, "I often unplug appliances with wet hands. I'll never do that again."
"It's not that dramatic," Michael replied calmly. "Just bad habits."
The movie ended, and the screening room erupted in applause. As a horror film, Final Destination was far above the passing mark in quality.
Guests and media reporters from the back rows came forward to offer their congratulations, and Michael responded to each of them.
"Well done, James," Michael said, hugging James Wong. "This is a masterpiece!"
He then embraced each member of the creative team. With solid promotion and marketing, the chances of this film failing were slim.
After that, Michael led the main crew to the press room for the routine premiere press conference.
But he did not stay for the press conference, leaving it to Andrew to host.
"People often see on the news that someone has survived a tornado, a flood, or a collapsed building without a scratch, while others bizarrely drown in shallow ditches. The contrast between the resilience and fragility of life is the inspiration for Final Destination."
Standing in the adjacent lounge, Michael listened as James Wong calmly answered the reporters' questions. With the success of The Purge, the Chinese-American director was gradually maturing.
It was no longer appropriate to consider James Wong a new director; otherwise, future collaborations might face problems.
Glen Morgan's voice also came through from the interview, "Last month, I was on a business trip to Canada, and while waiting at Vancouver airport, I suddenly heard John Denver's song. Since he died in a plane crash, I found it a bit eerie. Later, I suggested to James that we include this song in the film."
So this was the decisive reason for including "Rocky Mountain High" in the film.
Michael knew that Glen Morgan and James Wong would be valuable to Relativity Entertainment for a long time.
Once Glen Morgan completed the script for The Purge sequel, he could move on to writing the script for Final Destination 2.
As long as this duo didn't make unreasonable demands, Michael wouldn't replace the director and writer. The second installment of Final Destination was the weakest among the first three films.
After the success of Final Destination, James Wong went on to make other movies, and the production company replaced the director, resulting in a lose-lose situation.
Of course, continued collaboration would only happen if the conditions remained reasonable.
If James Wong demanded $10 million or a large share of the box office, Michael would have to find someone else.
With the first film's success, they could make sequels to rake in money.
The Final Destination horror formula could last for four or five movies.
This was the reason for choosing a series. Michael knew well the benefits of sequels.
Even if the company faced setbacks, holding the rights to multiple series meant steady income and guaranteed success.
With the official release of Final Destination in North America, more viewers were seeing this horror-thriller film.
The midnight screenings in 2,000 theaters grossed $3.1 million easily.
This was a pretty good midnight box office for an R-rated horror film, second only to Scream 2's $4.2 million in recent years.
And the latter was a sequel.
Those who attend midnight screenings are undoubtedly the most hardcore fans, who have a strong influence on word-of-mouth.
Final Destination received a positive reaction from this group.
"The core of this film isn't the unique ways characters die instantly but the slow, torturous process leading up to death, which is scarier than death itself. With the director's deliberate hints and suspense, the characters enter familiar environments from everyday life, and every action could lead to their eventual demise. The audience anxiously waits for that moment."
"The plot is innovative, the details of the deaths are cleverly designed, and it's very imaginative. The tension and atmosphere are suffocating."
"After watching, I felt a thrill. Every nerve was tense, not knowing who would die next or how. It's a classic in horror films."
"It's truly shocking. Beyond the incredible death methods, what's more impressive is the theme of fate, that death is inevitable, and even if you escape once, it's still unavoidable."
These passionate fans often share their thoughts about the film through various channels after watching it.
There are two types of movies they comment on the most: highly entertaining good films and bad films with numerous flaws.
The rapid development of the internet and the presence of these hardcore fans are among the reasons for the decline in the influence of professional film critics.
They love watching trailers before the main feature, repeatedly enjoying them online and recommending them to friends. They participate in Yahoo Movies' surveys, indicating which new releases they'll see that weekend. After watching a film, they share their opinions with friends through various means.
They know as much about the movie industry as professionals, are familiar with industry gossip and trivia, and can account for up to 60% of a new film's box office while generating widespread word-of-mouth that influences ticket sales.
It's safe to say that if a film can win over these hardcore fans, it's halfway to box office success.
And ninety-nine percent of them are teenagers.
Final Destination had precisely won over this group.